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Novae crews up with new marine recruits Richard Bridges and Ross Deering

Novae Group plc has raided Mitsui Sumitomo at Lloyd’s syndicate 3210 to recruit Richard Bridges and Ross Deering. The duo join Novae’s expanding marine team as unit head and class underwriter for hull & war respectively. They are based in London and report to Darren Carr, head of marine.

Bridges has over 21 years’ experience underwriting marine hull for Lloyd’s syndicates and member companies of the International Underwriting Association and was most recently class underwriter – marine hull & war for syndicate 3210. Prior to this he was deputy class underwriter for marine hull at Chubb Managing Agent Limited and held senior roles with Württembergische UK and Eagle Star Insurance Co. Ltd.

Deering brings over a decade of experience to the specialist listed Lloyd’s insurer. He was previously hull underwriter for syndicate 3210 and prior to this, he spent six years in QBE’s marine & Energy syndicate 1036.

John Owen, Novae’s divisional head of marine, aviation and political risk, said: “Richard and Ross are highly talented underwriters with proven track records of building profitable books of business in this class. Despite a challenging industry environment, we still see opportunities for growth in niche areas of the market and their experience makes them well placed to support the continued expansion of our MAP division.”

Elsewhere, Chubb has appointed Joe Fernandez as financial lines product manager for Eurasia and Africa. Fernandez, formerly D&O and financial institutions product manager for legacy ACE in continental Europe, will be responsible for the development and implementation of financial lines underwriting strategies in Eurasia and Africa. He will also be responsible for employee financial lines products training, and will continue to be based in London, reporting to Grant Cairns, financial lines manager for Chubb in the UK and Ireland. His appointment is effective immediately.

Giles Ward, regional president for Chubb in Eurasia and Africa, said: “Joe is a great addition to the Eurasia and Africa team where we see considerable long-term opportunity for growth in financial lines. His strong track record and market knowledge in Europe’s more mature markets will help us to further build our capabilities here and his appointment will bring further focus and consistency to our underwriting strategy. I wish him all the best in his new role.”

Since the referendum on 23 June 2016, there has been a lot of uncertainty in many sectors, but for the UK's insurance and long-term savings industry, the largest in the EU and third largest worldwide, the shockwaves are likely to be felt for some time